New Web Portal Connects Donors to Local Gulf Groups

Jul 14, 2010

“The nature of the BP Gulf disaster—a man-made, corporate disaster aided and abetted by lack of regulatory oversight—makes fundraising a challenge,” says Eness. “People want to hold BP’s feet to the fire and demand it pay for remediation. But donors need to understand that there are limits to what BP will pay for. The work of independent nonprofits is critical to safeguarding the quality of life along the Gulf Coast and ensuring BP and government are held accountable.”

NEW WEB PORTAL CONNECTS DONORS TO LOCAL GULF GROUPS

NEW ORLEANS - The Delta Working Group (DWG) is a coalition of over seventy academics, scientists, non-profit leaders, artists, and representatives of the seafood industry living and working in the Greater New Orleans region. DWG has launched a web portal, www.oilspilldonation.org, to facilitate donations for local non-profit organizations engaged in direct service and monitoring activity in response to the British Petroleum Offshore Drilling Disaster (BPODD). “When people ask who is doing what to make things better along the Gulf Coast, we can direct them to this credible one-stop site,” says Dana Eness, Executive Director of The Urban Conservancy and one of the organizers of the DWG.

The site includes an introductory video and several one-minute videos featuring nonprofit organizations in the region addressing critical environmental and human needs, to whom donors can give directly. The website will expand to incorporate video clips of additional nonprofit organizations active in addressing the impacts of this disaster.

“The nature of the BP Gulf disaster—a man-made, corporate disaster aided and abetted by lack of regulatory oversight—makes fundraising a challenge,” says Eness. “People want to hold BP’s feet to the fire and demand it pay for remediation. But donors need to understand that there are limits to what BP will pay for. The work of independent nonprofits is critical to safeguard the quality of life along the Gulf Coast and to ensure BP and government are held accountable.”

The Delta Working Group met in New Orleans in May and called for:

1. Creation of a Citizen Advisory Council to promote and facilitate civic engagement in various aspects of the Gulf Coast energy industry including but not limited to data collection, monitoring of impacts, and government action;
2. Creation of a one-stop-repository that outlines all data monitoring activities;
3. Support for on-going multi-stakeholder activities that make clear the interdependency of the economic, social and environmental impacts of BPODD and the need for coordinated strategic responses and actions.

The initial meeting was hosted by The Urban Conservancy and the New Orleans Institute @ City-Works, with support from the Tulane Center for Water Resources Law and Policy, The United Houma Nation, the New Orleans Food and Farm Network, Gulf Restoration Network, The Center for the Study of New Orleans at Loyola University, National Wildlife Federation, People’s Environmental Center.

More information, including a full report and a video statement about the organizations and individuals involved can be found here.